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Could it be that a different set of security protocols exist while on "vacation" that enable more flexibility? While it seems a bit daft to repeatedly go on vacation when things hit the fan, it could help explain the repeat nature of this gaffe. It also relieves some amount of explanation. Instead of "We high-tailed it to the bunker," the message becomes "We were in our triply reinforced subterrainian ski-lodge celebrating Dick's anniversary."
As for the alert level I believe it would be very hard to resist using them as political tools. Could be real, could be manipulation. This time? How do we know? If I were OBL it'd be a good time of year to cause a commotion. If I were Bush, same deal. I'm just glad my job doesn't require lots of air travel. That has become a royal PITA.
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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195
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